The penalty from Robin van Persie that brought Arsenal to the brink of a famous comeback against Milan in the Champions League this week prompted memories of a night when an English team found themselves on the wrong end of a remarkable recovery at the Bernabéu in the European Cup in 1975.

Derby County, managed by Dave Mackay in the wake of Brian Clough's acrimonious departure two seasons earlier, had stunned the football world by roundly beating Real Madrid 4-1 at the Baseball Ground, where Charlie George had an outstanding match. In the second leg Mackay unwisely went for caution, Derby defended too deep and Real won 5-1.

After the game some of the English reporters joined the Real coach, Miljan Miljanic, for a few drinks at his apartment just up the road from the ground. Before the match the Spanish newspapers had been full of a reported dispute between Miljanic and one of his players, Manuel Velazquez. Asked about this the Montenegrin shrugged and gave a little smile. "Only goals is problem," he replied. The result, in other words, had said it all.

Events continue to bear out the truth of this sentiment. For all the rows and rumours that fill the sports pages and airwaves nothing matters so much as putting the ball into the net at crucial moments.

Last weekend there was much discussion about the special goals, special as much because of their timing as their quality: Van Persie's excellent stoppage-time winner for Arsenal at Liverpool that re-established the claims of Arsène Wenger's side to a top-four finish in the Premier League and the sharp header from Wayne Rooney, who had done relatively little up to that moment, which pointed Manchester United towards a win at Tottenham after they had been second best for much of the first half.

Some goals retain their significance long after the details of how they were scored have been forgotten. What might be considered the most important goal scored in the English game during the last 22 years was the one from Mark Robins in 1990 that brought Manchester United a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest in the third round of the FA Cup. At the time it hardly seemed one for the history books yet it launched United on the successful FA Cup run that probably kept Alex Ferguson in his job after several mediocre seasons in the league. A dozen championships later the name of Robins deserves a prominent place in the Old Trafford legend.

Goals settle all arguments (although they can start a few more). On Wednesday Lionel Messi, back from suspension for Barcelona after collecting five yellow cards, was ravenous following his enforced rest. Bayer Leverkusen were the hapless victims as the Argentina striker scored five times, a Champions League record, in a 7-1 win that put Barcelona through to the quarter-finals 10-2 on aggregate. Another Diego Maradona? In ability yes, but the next World Cup should establish his true place in football history.

Barcelona's future opponents will be trusting that Messi does not suffer further bans if this is what it does to his appetite. He did not have anything to prove but wanted to make up for time lost, however brief.

George Best found himself in a similar situation in 1970. Playing for Manchester United against Manchester City in the first leg of a League Cup semi-final he was booked for dissent and after the final whistle knocked the ball out of the hands of the referee, Jack Taylor. Best was suspended for four weeks and by then his disciplinary record, on and off the pitch, was such that there was a feeling in some quarters that United would be well rid of him.

When he returned United were facing a potentially awkward fifth-round FA Cup tie at Northampton. In next to no time it became clear that any awkwardness was going to be suffered by the home team's defence as Best took them apart on a mudheap and scored six times in an 8-2 win. Compared with George, Messi is a choirboy but clearly Best felt he owed something to both his team and himself.

Amid all the speculation about the next England manager there has been no mention of the likely identity of the next England player to score a special goal in a major tournament, that is to say a well-taken goal that leaves the team within sight of achieving something significant. David Platt's late winner against Belgium in the 1990 World Cup, which earned Bobby Robson's team a quarter-final against Cameroon, falls into this category. Sadly it has few companions.